CHRISTMAS MAKEOVER: Has The Word C In Christmas Been Replaced By The C For Commercialism?

Did that first Christmas song over the radio this year in August, maybe even earlier,  fill you with a feeling of impending gloom?

For many people, Christmas means a severe case of holiday dread, directly tied to a sense of an obligation to spend money in order to have a "meaningful celebration". 

Shoppers around the US say they are planning to spend an average of $854 for gifts this holiday season, up from $646 last year according to the twenty-seventh annual survey on holiday spending from the American Research Group, Inc. In telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,100 adults nationwide conducted November 11 through 14, 2012, the average planned spending of $854 for 2012 is up over 32% from average planned spending in the 2011 survey.

Commercialism has not only eradicated the true meaning of Christmas for many people, but also affected Church communities.

We now see that Christmas Day celebrations have slowly been elbowed off the religious calendar and replaced by Christmas Eve candle light services. Why?  Because most churches feeling the pinch of dwindling attendance now see Christmas Eve candle light services as a prime marketing opportunity to attract new members.  The result has been an explosion of sentimental tear-jerking candle-light presentations in just about every church that are mainly focused to  "hold the attention" of infrequent and non-church-goers..and hopefully bring new members ( and revenue) to the Church. 

While most of us enjoy tucking into good food and chatting to loved ones on the holidays, it’s estimated that more than a million elderly people in the US will be spending December 25 on their own, with just the TV for company.

Taking the extra step, caring about others, sacrificing your time, all Biblical principles, have basically lost out to the gratification of self.

A survey by Friends of the Elderly revealed that one in six pensioners is in touch with relatives just once a week, while one in 10 has contact from family members once a month.

Bill Talen, a Dutch -American Calvinist Minnesota - born actor turned minister moved to New York City from San Francisco in the early 1990s, where he became better known as a "hybrid street preacher".

Talen who had always been suspicious of religious figures after rejecting the conservative Protestantism of his youth studied radical theologians and performers; of these, Talen credits Elaine Pagels and Lenny Bruce as particularly strong influences.

Though Talen does not call himself a Christian, he says that "Reverend Billy" is not a parody of a preacher, but a real preacher; he describes his church's spiritual message as "put the Odd back in God.".

Talen says: "Let’s talk about the Devil. Corporate Commercialism has sped up to a roar, virtually unopposed. Consumerism is normalized in the mind of the average person, specially the younger ones among us, sometimes we even refer to ourselves as consumers forgetting that we are also citizens, humans, men, women, animals. We forget that we share many resources, public spaces, libraries, information, history, sidewalks, streets, schools that we created laws and covenants and governments to protect us,, to support us, to help us. The subjugation of these resources and these laws to the forces of the market demands a response.

Liberation is a radiant process, it spreads. We think freedom from consumerism is virulent, contagious. Tell your neighbor you stopped shopping and that it gives them permission to do the same.

One day we can all live in richly varied and great neighborhoods, with people who seem to have re-invented themselves, and so are endlessly fascinating, something beyond entertainment. Yes there IS a Life After Shopping! "

Have a blessed Christmas.

EU-Digest